


bones burning bright

by mokiwrites



Series: a strange catharsis [1]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016)
Genre: Animal Death, Other, and mowgli having lots of spirit pals, i was having a hard day, makes me smile to think, mowgli was heavy on my mind, of stephen taking care of him, stephen strange takes care of dead pets, used this to cope, vulture culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 04:46:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17574164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mokiwrites/pseuds/mokiwrites
Summary: based on a ficletherethat was based on a prompt lol my kitty mowgli passed away suddenly from a brain tumor on january 29, 2018 and honestly it hs been an incredibly hard year without him. i was bringing this back and realized i didn't have it on here, so i'm fixing that.





	bones burning bright

The sun hadn’t yet risen fully when he was disturbed from his slumber by pounding and knocking at the front door, amplified by the sanctum itself to be positive its master would hear. Dusty gray colored the sky, warning of the imminent coming of dawn. Stephen groaned and grumbled as he shoved himself out of the warmth of his blankets, joints creaking and popping with protest and age while he stood and grabbed a distinctively red dressing robe. Cinched and tied, it accented his narrow waist and added to his slender, willowy appearance.  
  
    “Let them in,” He muttered to the emptiness of his room, voice hoarse and groggy.  
  
    Apparently, the sanctum’s current preferred aesthetic was a mix of jungle and tropics with vines growing along the walls, draping from beam to beam. Palm trees replaced door frames and broad, waxy-leafed shrubs had sprouted along the baseboards. At least this time it hadn’t chosen either of the poles as its interior decor; stepping out to snow and ice first thing in the morning was amongst his absolute least favorite things. Creatures and relics alike awakened in his bare-footed passing and some followed behind him out of curiosity, unseen by the average human eye or seen but one would be hard pressed to believe. A black and white banded two-headed snake, spiders larger than his hands covered in shockingly blue and white fur with large and expressive eyes, butterflies with wings of stained glass, and rat-sized dragons covered in bright feathers peeking from the tops of bookcases. Even without the sanctum’s environment of the day, it was always a bit of a jungle in there.  
  


He had expected the usual culprits of interrupted sleep; otherworldly monsters threatening the balance of reality, any number of the Avengers needing his assistance for some ancient magical relic or locations cloaked in magic, or his boyfriend who somehow functioned on such little sleep that sometimes Stephen had to wonder if he was entirely human.  
  
    What he had not expected was a young woman, trembling and hiccuping in sobs with something dark cradled against her chest. Stephen cleared his throat softly before speaking, having learned long ago the deepness of his voice could be quite startling when it was unexpected.  
  
    “Can I help you?”  
  


She turned towards him fully and Stephen felt his lips twitch in a subtle frown. It was a cat she cradled, limp and lifeless and as black as nothingness.  
  
    “Please,” Her voice shook. “I-I don’t want him to be alone. He’s never… He didn’t like to be alone.” A steady stream of tears dripped down onto the black, black fur.  
  
    This was hardly the first time, and he knew it would not be the last. Oddly, these small deeds never bothered him much. If anything it was quite the opposite of an inconvenience to not only offer comfort to a grieving parent, owner, sibling, or whatever they saw themselves as, but helped their companion find peace during a confusing transition. Stephen exhaled quietly, expression softening as he closed the distance between them.  
  
    “Of course,” He crooned, voice gentle as a lullaby. “May I?” Both shaking hands reached out in waiting. Hesitantly, she placed the limp body into them and Stephen brought the feline to his chest to listen to what Death whispered, fingers stroking through fur that could rival a black hole. “You did the right thing. His time was near - a rapidly growing brain tumor was interrupting the involuntary functions of his body… shutting it down slowly… painfully. You spared him the worst of it.” His ghostly pale eyes raised from the body and to the woman, offering a tender, genuine smile. “What is his name?”  
  
    “Mowgli.” Merely saying it caused a flood of fresh tears.  
  
    Stephen’s smile grew. “A good name. I’m betting you wanted to go with Bagheera originally, yeah?”  
  
    She laughed brokenly and nodded, wiping tears on the palms of her hands. “It felt kinda long for a cat.”  
  
    “Where was Mowgli’s favorite place to sleep?”  
  
    “Beside one of us on the couch… cuddled up with me at night.” Her lip trembled.  
  
    “Follow me.”  
  


Normally, he might have taken the remains outside. But normally the remains he collected were from creatures who already lived outside. Wildlife and strays and pets who lived strictly outdoors. This wasn’t one of those. Instead, Stephen lead her back to his own bedroom suite and deposited the body gently onto his favorite reading nook set into a large window. First, a small barrier was conjured around the cat, then the Eye of Agamotto was open and activated. Thus began the slow turning of time focused strictly on the corpse, pushing it into decay (the barrier saving them of the smell) and rot and eventually decomposition with some magical influence until nothing remained save for the bones. The Eye was closed, barrier released, and he stepped aside to let her look upon the skeleton.  
  
    “It may take him a few days to come out. Once he does I will no longer require anything more than his skull - if you wished to bury his remains somewhere.”  
  


After a final farewell and phone numbers exchanged, the woman left with a sad smile but a light heart.  
  
    Every day, Stephen spent long hours reading beside the skeleton, sometimes in silence and other times out loud until the spirit finally stepped out of its corporeal remains, staring at Stephen with vivid yellow-green eyes amongst the void of his fur.  
  
    “Hey there, Mowgli.” Stephen said, smiling and extending a shaking hand. The cat meowed so loud it was almost _yelled_  at him a voice only he could hear, and it startled him somewhat. “She wasn’t kidding, you  _are_  loud.” His hand was headbutted, the ghostly contact cold and tingly. Stephen stroked between his ears and under his chin, then moved the book from his lap and gave his thighs an inviting pat. The cat trotted forward and climbed onto him, then flopped down and purred deep and bassy. One hand remained on the phantom feline, patting gently, while with the other he opened the book back up to continue where he’d left off, his smile remaining.


End file.
